Bags for milk and the like



June 1, 1965 H. A. MEAD TAL. 3,186,625

BAGS FOR MILK AND THE LIKE Original Filed June 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. HARRY A. MEAD By LAMONT SLAGEL M5 [fmII/W74.

June l l965 H. A. MEAD ETAL 3,186,625

BAGS FOR MILK AND THE LIKE Original Filed `une 26. 196i 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

HARRY A. MEAD Y AMO/vr SLAGEL A TTORNE Y United States Patent C) 3,186,62 BAGS FR MILK AND THE LiKE Harry A. Mead, Lakewood, Colo. (10060 W. 8th Piace, Bem/er, Colo), and Lamont Singel, 6855 S. Adams Way, Littleton, Colo. f Continuation ot application Ser. No. 119,732, June 26, 1961. This application .luly 6, 1964, Ser. No. 386,163 d Claims. (Cl. 229-53) This invention relates to bags for milk and other liquids, formed of flexible or pliable, heat scalable materials,

y particularly a plastic, such as polyethylene. This applica- `and stored in metal cans, but such cans are heavy and require reshipment from the point of use of milk to the point of filling. The point of use of the milk may be `the ultimate point of use, or the point at which the milk is transferred to smaller containers, the latter for sanitary reasons. In addition each can must be thoroughly sterilized before it is used again, such sterilization being timeconsuming and often inconvenient.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a novel bag for milk or other liquids; to provide such a bag which may be readily filled, stored and shipped; to provide` such a bag which may be made in a convenient form for use; to provide such a bag which may be made of a sufficiently inexpensive material that it may be discarded after one use; to provide such a bag which may be iilledand emptied without und-ue difficulty; to provide a bag which is filled through one spout and emptied through another spout; to provide such a bag which may beused for dispensing milk or other liquids; to provide such a bag which Will be ehicient and eiiective yin use; to provide a series of such bags in a form which may be readily stored yand handled; to provide such a bag vwhich may exist in a plurality of forms; and to provide such bags which may be easily and economically manutactured.

Additional objects and thenovel features of this inven- 4tion will become apparentfrom the description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

TIG. ,l is a top plan view of a portion of a flattened tubular strip, illustrating the manner in which a lseries of bags constructed in accordance with this invention may be produced; Y .V

FlG. 2 is a side elevation, on a slightly enlarged scale, of a bag after removal `from the strip of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a plan View, similar to FlG. 2 but on a reduced scale, of an alternative bag after removal from the strip; j

FIG. 4 is a plan view, showing a further alternative bag of this invention; and

lFIG, 5 is a vertical, enlarged section, taken along line 545 of FIG. 4, 'showing tabs which assist in opening alling spout.

'In accordance with this invention, a series of bags plastic, such as polyethylene, as by heat sealing and par- -tially separating at spaced positions along the strip. The

individual bags, such as the bag B of FIG. 2, conveniently yremain with the strip S until separated there-from; Edges 9 and liti oi strip S are integral with the sides when strip S is a'tlattened, tubular strip, although it will bev ICC understood that strip S may be formed from a sheet folded over along the center, so as to be integral at one edge and the side walls heat sealed along the opposite edge. Or, the side walls at both edges 9 and 119 maybe attached together by heat seals.

Bag B, as in FIG.l 2, `has a normally open iillingy spout il, disposed at the upper end of the bag, and a normally closed pouring spout 12, located at the bottom of the bag and extending longitudinally from the bottom of the bag, conveniently at one edge. To produce a series of the bag B, a series of heat seals may be produced in spaced positions along the strip S of FIG. 1, such series of heat seals including a transversely extending heat seal 13, which extends from edge 9 across the strip to a point spaced from the opposite edge 1d and is integral with a longitudinally extending heat seal section 14, which extends in spaced relation to edge 1d, to form one boundary of pouring spout 12 of a bag B. The end of `the pouring spout may be closed by a transverse heat seal section 15, which seals the walls of the strip together between the end of heat seal section 14 and the adjacent edge 1rd of the bag. A longitudinal heat seal section 1.6, spaced 'from edge 9 of the bag, so as to form one boundary of illing spout 11, may be integral with heat seal section 13, or may be spaced slightly therefrom, on the opposite side of a series of cuts or perforations 17, which extend from the edge 9 of the bag to a point adjacent heat seal section 14. A slot 18 may extend alongside the heat seal section 14 and may be provided at its lower end with a corner extension, with a seriesof slots or perforations 19 being spaced from the corner extension and e7- tending transversely to edge 1d adjacent heat seal section 15. As will be evident, slots 18 and :19, when serving is completed, provide the pouring spout 12 of bag B. Slot 18 may lead from a preferably circular hole 2li, to prevent slot l18 from extending further into the bag or the pouring spout to be servered, by inadventently cutting too far along the line of perforations 17. A slot 2.1 may extend Within the longitudinal heat seal section 16, or may be spaced slightly therefrom ou the side opposite the adjacent edge 9 of the strip, as shown, so as to permit the lling spout 11 more conveniently to be folded over and sealed or closed by a suitable device after the bag has been filled. The slot 2,1 conveniently extends Vfrom the line of perforations 17 and, if desired, may be .lf-shaped, i.e. having a hook at the lower end, or may terminate in a hole, both forms of which are shown in U.S. Patent 2,990,101. l

To seal the top of the bag B, except along filling spout 11, a heat seal section 22 may extend from the lower end of heat seal 16 and diagonally across the strip, Vso as to clear the slots 18 and 19 and conveniently in a curve, such as sho-wn, to reduce the number of or eliminate sharp corv lners in the heat sealing units. As will be evident, when the bag B of FIG. 2 is separated lfrom the strip, i.e. by cornpleting servering along perforaticns 17 and slots 18 and 19, the upper edge, except for filling spout 11, will be closed by the heat seal sections 16 and 22, while the opposite corner of the upper edge will be provided with a rectangular cutout Withfa small arc 23 at the then upper right corner, oc-

casioned by separating the bag from the next bag along perforations 17 and slots 18 and 19, are 23 being a portion of the edge of hole 2t). At the bottom, the bag will be sealed by heat seals 13, 14 and 15, withthe pouring spout 12'extending longitudinally therefrom and an arc 24, also resulting from hole 2t), being lat the point of connection between pouring spout 12 and lthe remainder ot the bottom' of the bag. j

A series of bags B may be formedin strip S by moving the strip intermittently. between a pair of heating dies which produce the heatV seals 13, 14, 15, 16 and22 at spaced positions along the strip, then between a pair ot ltinu'ouslybetween a pair of rolls having kheating'dies ythereon adapted to produce the desired heat seals atv V'spaced positions, then a pair of rolls which are provided with cutting knives or the like, adapted to'produce the desired perforations and slits, suchas apparatus of our application Serial No. 810,470, filed May l, 1959 and entitled Apparatus for Making Bags, now U.S. Patent 2,999,533, dated September 12, 1961. v

4As will be evident, the normally open lling spout 11 may be opened to receive asupply of liquid, such as milk,

then heat `sealed across the top or turned down vonto itself and clamped, or closed in any other suitable manner. i of'cardboard and the like, for reinforcement purposes and for greater `ease in handling and shipping. Suche.

The bag B may alsobe placed in a carton formed carton should have Vaccess holes or aps for. the iilling spout 11 and pouring spout 12. As will also be evident, the normally closed pouring spout 12 may be very readily inserted into a control valve or the like, when the bagl is to be used for dispensing purposes, and flow therethrough permitted by cuttingofi" the end of the pouring spout, such as lalong dash line 25. Y

An alternative bag B of this invention maybe `constructed as shown in FIG. 3 and may be formed from a strip in a manner similar to that described above. The strip from which bag B is made is provided with front and rear walls connected together at the edges, which may be heat sealed and severed in spaced positions along the strip, forming a series of bags. Bag B has an upwardly extending filling spout 30, located at the upper end, and a downwardlyV extending pouring spout 31 located at the lower end, both the filling and Ypouring spouts being positioned centrally or at least between the edgesof-the tral transverse'heat seal 32, connected at opposite ends with downwardly extending heat seal sections 33 and 34,: respectively, which in turn merge with transversely andv outwardly extending heat seal sections 35 and 36, respec tively, which complete thetop of V.the bag. Convenient- 1y,'heat seal sections y33 Vand 34imerge-with sections `35 and 36, respectively, which complete theV vtop of the bag. Conveniently, heat seal Vsections 33 and 34 'merge with Sections 35 and 36, respectively along a curve orarc,

while sections 35 and V36 terminateat the edge of thebag in a curved, downturned end. A J-shaped slot 37 may extend Withinthe heatV seal sections 33 and35, Vor may be spaced slightly, therefrom onV they outside, as

shown, whileanother .-shaped slot 38 `may extend with-v `in the heat seal sections 34 and 36, or may be spaced slightly therefrom on the outside, as shown, to permit the filling spout 30 more ,conveniently to'be sealed in Ya suitv able manner after the baghas been filled. Advantage-A and'provide a pouring spoutwhich is wider at the upper end than at the lower, so that the liquid within the container, which exerts forces normal to the surface of the container, will tend to hold the spout'open and prevent binding, so that the liquid will flow freely.

rcontrol Valve, when the bag is used for ldispensing purposes.- Slots Yde and 47 may each terminate in a hole 48 s to prevent theV slitsV from-tearing further into the bag or pouring spout. Y Conveniently, after the pouring spout has been inserted into a control valve, the end may be cut olf,

, per end thereof `and a laterally offset pouring spout 5l, at

the .lowerrencrL'` although it will be understood thatthe lateral position of either or'both spoutszmay be varied toV suit the use for which the bag is intended. The bag B,

Y including the fillingand pouring spouts, is formed by a single heat seal which extends around the periphery. of the bag, as,shown, including side edge heat seal sections p 52 and'53; heat seal sections 32', 33', 34,35 and 3.6',

bag. The vfilling spout 30 is normally closed bypa cen-- ously, slots 37 and 38 each terminate in a hole 39 to pre- Vent tearing.` For sanitaryreasonaiilling -spout 30 may' remain closed until just prior to filling, at which time the filling spout 30 may be opened by severing, as along dash line 46.

, Pouring spout 31 KVmay be smaller than the lling spout,` I iffdesired, and is normally Yclosed by a transverse, cen- Y tral heat seal 41. The elongated neck of the pouring spout is formed by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinal'heat seal'sections 4Z and 43which extend upwardlyfrom the ends of fheat sealV 41 andare integralI with generally. diag,-

onal, outwardlyl extendingheatsealk sections 44 tand45,` respectively.Y .To accommodate the generally cylindrical yshape which the bag'B tends to assume when lilled with a 4adapted'to form the fillingV spout 50' andsimilar to the corresponding heat seal sections of bag B of FIG. 3; and

heat sealfsections 41', 42?, andr43, adapted to 'form the 'necklof the` pouring spout 5 1 and again similar to the corresponding heat seal sections of bag B' of FIG. 3. In addition, la longer slantingheaty seal sectiont54 extends between sections 52 andf42, the juncture between the rebetween sections 53 and 43', kthe juncturev between the v respective sections again being curved, conveniently such as shown. If a tubular strip'isus'ed, the frontend-rear wallsthereof will be sealed together along the heat seal sections, while if twoseparate strips are used, they will Vbejoined together along the heat seal sections. f

Advantageously,'the bag Bfmay be separated from thetubular strips or theY two .separate strips, asl the case may be,.by;a hot wirewhich is bentv tofthe shape of the bag and mayfbe incorporated `withtheheat sealing iron, `along the outerperiphery thereof. Thus, the bag may be Vformed and separated from the strips in one operation. Conveniently,4 the strips may be moved Valong a `conveyor in overlyingpositionA and Vthe sealing iron, whichis` inthe shape of 'the heatseal sectionslof the bag, maybe broughtv into :contact with the strips, at timed intervals,1sealing them-together. Atythejsame time, the

'-hotwire' which forms the periphery ofthe sealing iron ,will` sever the'strips to separate they bag from the remainder of` theV strips. Y Y

To till the bag B", the filling spout Stlmay. be severed, as along-dash line 56fand the spout pulled open .by grasping tabs 571,"each also formed of'heat sealable material which-isy doubledover and attachedto opposite sides of the spout, as in FIG; 5,by yheat sealing. Thefilling spout S0 may then beV sealed or closed inanysuitablelmanner after the bag has been lled; Aswillbe evident, pouring spout 51 may Ybe .readily insertedinto, a control valve or Y, the like, when the bag Yis to beused for dispensing purposes, and owtherethroughmay be permitted'by removing the ltransverse heat seal section'V 41', which initially forms Athe end of the pouringspout, asbycutting'along dash line 5S. n 1 v g vAsvtwill be evident, the bags, off lthis invention may be produced individually, instead of in strip form, while various forms of this invention may be produced in strip form by the apparatus disclosed and claimed in our aforesaid application Serial No. 816,470, now U.S. Patent 2,999,533. Although the term heat seal is used herein to refer to the attachment of the front and rear walls of a strip, or to attach separate strips together, it will be understood that the term includes a heat weld in which the material of two walls of the strip itself, or of separate strips, are fused, as well as a connection formed by heating a layer of perhaps different material to form a connection. In addition, it will be understood that various features of one embodiment of this invention may be incorporated in other embodiments and that the position of the filling and pouring spouts, as well as .the relative sizes thereof, may be varied to suit the purpose for which the bag is intended. For example, slit 21-may be produced closer to heat seal 16 and extend along heat seal 22, so as to eliminate completely the unusable ap or' portion of bag B above heat seal 22 and to the right of heat seal I6, as viewed in FIG. 2. Also, the filling spout Il may be formed with a heat seal across the upperv end thereof, if desired, this heat seal being severed from the bagy at the time of filling.

From the foregoing, it Will be evident that this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. A bag constructed in accordance with this invention is readily filled at the top through a filling spout and emptied at the bottom through a pouring spout. The bag may be made of sufiiciently inexpensive material that it may be discarded after one use, thus avoiding the transportation difficulties and inconvenience of sterilization inherent in metal containers. The bag is also readily and relatively inexpensively manufactured, since a fiattened tubular strip of heat scalable material, or individual strips thereof, may be purchased at a reasonable cost, while heat sealing and cutting to form the bags may be performed on a production basis, thus further reducing the cost thereof. By making a plurality of bags from a single tubular strip and leaving the bags attached together, a roll of bags is produced which may not only be handled readily, but also may be more readily protected from contamination. By providing serrations or cuts along a line which extends across a heat sealed area or adjacent thereto, a filling spout may be easily provided and may be disposed at one edge of the bag, as in FIG. 2, or between the edges of the bag, as in FIGS. 3 and 4, and easily separated from the rest of the bag. Also, the bag may be made from two separate strips, as in FIG. 4, which are heat sealed together along a line forming the outer edges of the bag. The bag may also be provided with tabs, heat sealed to opposite sides of the filling spout, so that it may easily be opened for filling. The filling spout, after that bag is filled, may also be readily closed. By producing suitable heat sealed areas at appropriate positions, a pouring spout may be provided at the lower end of the bag, the end of which will remain `sealed until the contents of the bag are to be discharged.

The pouring spout, as well as the filling spout or portion, may be separated from the remainder of the upper and lower portions of the bag, as by slots which may be J-shaped, and may terminate in holes, so that a lateral pull on either the pouring or filling spout will not tend to cause the slot .to tear into the remainder of the bag.

Although certain preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, it willbe understood that other embodiments may exist andy various ltending heat seal; a heat seal extending from the opposite edge and generally across a lower portion of said bag to a second generally downwardly extending heat seal, said first and second downwardly extending heat seals being spaced apart; a heat seal extending between the lower ends of said first and second downwardly extending heat seals, said former heat seals forming a pouring spout upon severance of said bag adjacent said latter heat seal; a transverse heat seal extending across a limited portion of the top of the bag; and a heat seal extending downwardly from leach end of said top heat seal, then outwardly to the respective edges of said bag, thereby forming a filling spout upon severance of said bag adjacent said transverse heat seal.

2. A bag for milk and the like, comprising front and rear walls attached together at the side edges and formed of a fiexible heat scalable plastic material; a filling spout formed by a portion of one end of said bag, a first gen-y erally longitudinal heat seal extending to said one end of said bag at one side of said end portion, first generally longitudinally extending means joining said front and rear walls of said bag and extending to said one end at the opposite side of said end portion,and a generally transverse heat seal extending from said first longitudinal heat seal to the edge of said bag opposite said first generally longitudinally extending means; a pouring spout formed by a sealed portion at the other end of said bag, a second generally longitudinal heat seal extending to said other end of said bag at one side of said sealed portion, and second generally longitudinally extending means joining said front and rear walls of said bag and extending to said other end at the opposite side of said sealed portion; and a slit extending from said one end of said bag and substantially coinciding with said rst generally longitudinal heat seal and separating said filling spout from the remainder of said bag.

3. A bag for milk and the like, comprising front and rear walls attached together at the side edges and formed of a exible heat scalable plastic material; a filling spout formed by an unsealed portion of the top of said bag adjacent one side edge thereof and a heat seal extending downwardly from said unsealed portion opposite said one edge and then generally laterally across said bag to the other edge; a pouring spout at the bottom of said bag formed by said other side edge of said bag and a heat seal extending inwardly from said other side edge a distance equal to the width of said pouring spout, then upwardly, generally parallel to said other edge a distance equal to the length of said pouring spout and then generally laterally .across said bag to said one side edge; and a slit, extending from the top of said bag and substantially coinciding with said downwardly extending heat seal and separating said filling spout from the remainder of said bag.

4. A bag for milk and the like as defined in claim 3, wherein said filling spout is wider than said pouring spout.

5. A series of bags for milk and the like, comprising a flattened tubular strip formed ofheat scalable, plastic material and adapted to be placed in roll form, with individual bags being adapted to be separatedfrom said strip; a series of heat seals at spaced positions along said strip corresponding to the length of a bag, including a heat seal extending transversely across said strip from one edge to a point adjacent but spaced fromthe opposite edge, then generally parallel to said opposite edge and then transversely and to said opposite edge; a series of generally round holes in said strip disposed atV the inner corner of each of said first mentioned transverse and longitudinal portions of said heat seals; a first series of slots, each extending from said generally round hole alongside and in spaced relation to a longitudinalportion and provided With an angular extension adjacent the point of juncture between vsaid longitudinal and second transverse heat seal portions; a second series of slots, each extending transversely from said opposite edge of. said strip and inwardly opposite but terminating short of said angular tending transversely across said strip from said onek edge of said'strip and to said generally round hole; a-second seriesof heat seals,Y each extending longitudinally from saidltransverse seriesof apertures, on the side opposite `said' first transverse heat .seal portion, in spaced relation to said onededge offsaid-strip, `then generally diagonally across said strip-and to the opposite edge of'said strip,

Vsaid generally diagonal portion 'of each said 4heat seal 'being curved and passing around the end-extension of a longitudinal fslotyand a third series of slots, each extending alongside a longitudinal portion of a second heat seal `and .on the side opposite'said one edge of saidstrip.

6. A bag for milk and the like, kcomprisingfront and Vrea-r Walls' attached togetherat the side edges and formedr Vof a flexible, heat scalable, 'plastic' material, upper-heat sealH means extending downwardly from a point spaced 'from one edgeatthe top of said bag and generallyacross the upper portionof 4said bag to the opposite edge, `the top 4of said vbag between=said point'and-said one 'edgeY being unsealed to provide a lining-spout; lower generally horizontal heat seal means forming the bottomkofsaid bag Vextension of a rst-slotg/aV series of apertures, eaehexs andf extendingfrom one side edge-to a point spaced from they other-,side edge; a `downwardly'extending `heat seal Afroni said `spaeed point generallyparallel to said other Vside edge forming Va pouring ,spout .extending-below the bottom of Ysaid bag; and a heat sealclosing the end of said pouring spout and adapted to be severedto form a 'discharge means for said pouring spout.

'7.' A bag for milk andthe like,.as dened inl-'claim 6,

said filling spoutf'adaptedto b e severedbefore filling.

VReferences Cited by the Examiner vUNITED.STATES PATENTS @2,665,033 l 1/54` Robertson.

:2;831,6l0 4/58 Dennie;

2,866,488 12/58- Thompson.l `3,008,498 r11/61 VFehr.

FRANKLIN T; GARRETT; Primm Examiner. f 

1. A BAG FOR MILK AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING FRONT AND REAR WALLS ATTACHED TOGETHER AT THE SIDE EDGES AND FORMED OF A FLEXIBLE, HEAT SEALABLE PLASTIC MATERIAL; A HEAT SEAL EXTENDING FROM ONE EDGE AND GENERALLY ACROSS A LOWER PORTION OF SAID BAG TO A FIRST GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING HEAT SEAL; A HEAT SEAL EXTENDING FROM THE OPPOSITE EDGE AND GENERALLY ACROSS A LOWER PORTION OF SAID BAG TO A SECOND GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING HEAT SEAL, SAID FIRST AND SECOND DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING HEAT SEALS BEING SPACED APART; A HEAT SEAL EXTENDING BETWEEN THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING HEAT SEALS, SAID FORMER HEAT SEALS FORMING A POURING SPOUT UPON SEVERANCE OF SAID BAG ADJACENT SAID LATTER HEAT SEAL; A TRANSVERSE HEAT SEAL EXTENDING ACROSS A LIMITED PORTION OF THE TOP OF THE BAG; AND A HEAT SEAL EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM EACH END OF SAID TOP HEAT SEAL, THEN OUTWARDLY TO THE RESPECTIVE EDGES OF SAID BAG, THEREBY FORMING A FILLING SPOUT UPON SEVERANCE OF SAID BAG ADJACENT SAID TRANSVERSE HEAT SEAL. 